Questions Answered
by Forever-Waiting-Here
Summary: "What if we had hearts?" I didn't even have to think about the answer to that one. It was simple, "If we had hearts, nothing would change. I'd still love you with all my being."
1. Part I: What If?

**Author's Note: Alright, this is my first story ever posted here. So, I would appreciate feedback of any sort. Well, except flames. Those will be ignored or used to fuel Axel's fire. This is a three-shot. I am ****already ****finished writing the other two parts but I am going to wait to post them at least a day or so, that way readers have time to _read _the first part**.

**Warnings: Um... Akuroku. Nothing explicit. That's why it's rated T. But if you don't like the pairing, boy x boy, or for some reason you just don't like me, hit that little back button you have right now. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned... unless you count my collection of action figures...**

**Anyways, please enjoy the story.  
**

**~~~~~0~~~~~**

**.:Part I:.  
**

.:What If?:.

He always was different.

Number XIII. The keyblade's chosen one. Roxas.

He might have been a nobody but he could feel. He didn't really understand since he couldn't remember anything of his life when he was Sora, but he could feel. Yet, he always tried so hard to act like the rest of us, "emotionless". He tried to fit in because he didn't want to be different. He wanted to belong.

But he wasn't only different from us because of that. Actually he wasn't only different from us. He was different from anyone I've ever met.

He had this way about him. When I first met him, he was like a zombie. I don't think there was really anything in that blond covered head of his.

After a week or so that started to change. He became the Roxas I knew.

He could be so carefree at times. Laughing at the stupid things I would say while we would sit on the clock tower after our missions, watching the sunset and eating his favorite Sea Salt Ice Cream. The kid was addicted to that stuff.

I was addicted to him.

At other times though, he could be so serious. It was then that he'd ask me these questions. Sometimes they would be so random or out of nowhere that I'd have to really look at him to see if he was serious or just playing around.

The first time, we were in our usual spot.

Everything was pretty normal. We were eating our ice creams and bantering back and forth about this and that.

The conversation eventually faded out and we just sat, watching the sky slowly turn from orange to red to deep purple dotted with little twinkling lights.

The question that broke the comfortable silence was "What if the stars went out?"

He said it so quietly, I didn't know if it was really meant for me to hear. I remember staring at him for a few moments trying to decipher what he was thinking. When I couldn't, I just answered with that cocky smirk plastered on my face, "Well, then it'd be real dark right now and we'd die from falling off this clock tower."

There was a soft sigh followed by more silence. I don't really think that was the answer he was hoping for.

I just sat there and watched him think about it for a long time. I watched his face take on the slightest expression of being troubled. I watched his brows furrow slightly in thought. I watched the way the starlight made his cerulean eyes seem even deeper and bathed his skin in a dull glow.

Then suddenly, he turned to me and smiled that world stopping smile of his, "Tomorrow we should get some more Sea Salt."

Just like that everything was back to normal. I was teasing him about how he was gonna turn into the stuff if he kept eating so much of it and he was threatening to hang me from the ceiling of the Gathering Room by his keyblade, again.

The next time he asked me one of those questions, we were sparring out in one of The Castle That Never Was's forgotten court yards.

Roxas had had a run in with Saïx and needed to blow off some steam, so he came and asked me to spar.

I didn't question him, I just followed. If he wanted to tell me, he would. That's just how we worked.

We sparred for a while, exchanging blow upon blow. Roxas didn't hold back, as he released all his frustrations, and neither did I.

Eventually, when we were both exhausted and out of breath, Roxas dropped his keyblade to the ground where it vanished in a flash of light and darkness. My chakrams followed suit in twin bursts of flame.

We stood for awhile, catching our breath, and then he finally spoke up, telling me about what had happened. "I failed my mission. I didn't collect enough hearts."

I wasn't surprised. He had been sent to Halloween Town to collect 1000 hearts by himself and was only given an hour to do so. We're talking 1000 Search Ghosts and Neoshadows. No one could've pulled that off.

I just looked at him for awhile. Comforting was never really my thing.

That's when I saw the marks on his face. His eye was a nasty shade of purple and his lip was busted open. Now, I knew I hadn't made those marks.

I was just about to tell him I'd go even his score with Saïx when he spoke up again, "What if it always rained?"

My mind faltered for a moment and all the aggression I had felt quickly dissipated and was replaced with confusion.

Then I noticed that it was raining.

I watched the droplets fall and hit the stone covered ground one after another. I could feel my hair starting to droop and stick to my face and neck. I looked back to Roxas and watched his hair dampen and do the same as the water cascaded down from the sky and drench us and the world around.

It was strangely beautiful.

"Well, if it rained all the time, we'd all be wet and cold." My response made him chuckle slightly, the sound so brilliant in my ears as it drown out the pouring rain.

"You're right, only Demyx would be happy."

After that the questions became deeper. I would have a hard time finding a serious answer. Philosophy was never my thing. It was more Zexion's and apparently Roxas' as well.

I could always tell when he was going to ask one. He would stop whatever he was doing and get this real curious look about him.

Once, it was when we were in the Castle Library. He was standing on my shoulders trying to find a book on the top shelf. The kid loved to read.

He was reaching out for a heavy looking book but suddenly just stopped, mid-motion. His arm dropped back down to rest on my head. "What if the worlds, all this, all of _us_, are just part of one big storybook with pictures?"

I stood there silently, stunned by that question. I had to really think about it. The idea had never really crossed my mind but now that it was there, it was really something to consider.

By the time I had an answer for him, he had already gone back to his book collecting. "I-I think if that were the case, we would deserve a happy ending."

I watched his movements hesitate slightly. I think that surprised him, like he wasn't expecting an even remotely serious answer, if he was even expecting an answer at all.

"That sounds nice. But not all stories have a fairy tale happy ending." That second part came out quieter, an afterthought. But then he washed away the almost depressing thought with one of his gorgeous smiles that made his eyes light up. "Let's go to the beach tomorrow."

I couldn't help but smile at that. His smile was contagious.

The questions stopped for awhile after that. He would still stop what he was doing from time to time and act like he wanted to ask another one but he would stop before the words left his mouth and return to whatever it was he was doing before.

When he finally asked another one, it was the last question he had. The one he'd been trying to ask all along and just didn't know when or how.

It was the only one I knew the answer to, without even having to think about it.

We were up on the clock tower like you would find us any other day. Our ice creams had already been eaten and we were just talking about random things: how our missions went, how Demyx got locked in the bathroom, if Saïx was really a werewolf or something...

Roxas was laughing and smiling like there wasn't a trouble in the world.

I was thinking about how much I loved his laugh, his smile, his cute pout when he got angry, _him._

He asked me what I was staring at and without even thinking of the consequences, I blurted out, "You." He looked shocked and taken aback for a moment but quickly recovered and just smirked at me. "Like the view?"

"Most definitely," was all I said before leaning in slowly. He leaned in as well, eyes slipping shut, and met me half way.

The kiss was chaste and soft, but conveyed so much emotion.

That's when I realized, I could feel. I could all along. It was just that Xemnas had drilled it into our heads that we couldn't, made us believe we were just the empty shells of our Somebodies.

Who knows, maybe that had been true at one point, but in that moment I realized that once Roxas came along that changed for everyone, not just myself. When he came into the picture it was like a switch went off and everyone gained back what they had lost.

All because of him, Roxas. The nobody of the keyblade master himself. The Key of Destiny. My best friend and the one I loved.

When the kiss broke moments later, he sat for a few, eyes still closed, and then finally spoke up in a voice no louder than a whisper, "What if we had hearts?"

There was no hesitation, no pause in time before I answered with certainty in my voice, "If we had hearts nothing would change. I'd still love you with all my being."


	2. Part II: Why?

.:Why?:.

After awhile, the questions did come back but instead of 'What if…' he started to ask 'Why.'

He started to question why we were who we were. Why he couldn't remember his past life. Why he had the keyblade.

And soon after those questions started, he left; left the Organization, left… me.

I tried to stop him. But he wanted to find the answers he was searching for – he needed to find them. I would have helped him but deep down I knew he needed to do it on his own.

When I went after him, he told me no one would miss him but I could tell that he knew that was a lie; that he knew I would.

He needed to say it, to try to make himself believe it, so that leaving everything behind… leaving me behind would be easier.

And even knowing that, those words were still a stab to my supposedly nonexistent heart.

As he ran away through the pouring acid like rain, I could only watch. I stood for a long time, staring at the place he had once been. That's when I started to question why. Why could I feel? Why did he leave me when it was obvious I needed him? Why couldn't I stop him? Why couldn't I have kept him by my side?

The more questions I asked myself, the angrier I became. And as the anger grew, I got even angrier because I didn't understand why I felt that way; why I felt anything.

When I got back to the Castle, I ended up in my room. For a long time I paced back and forth, back and forth, trying to answer some of my own questions. When that only led to me having more questions than before, I lost it.

I summoned my chakrams and began to tear apart my room. I shredded my bed, set fire to my curtains and gashed long streaks all over my walls. By the time I was done, my room was in shambles.

Yet, it wasn't enough. So, I screamed, and I kept screaming until my voice failed me and then I started to sob. Yeah, that's right, me, Axel, The Flurry of Dancing Flames, threw a temper tantrum and started to cry like a two year old.

I don't know how long I stayed like that, but when my emotional breakdown was finally over, I was left empty.

I got up slowly and made my way out of my charred and destroyed room. I made my way down the pristine white hallways until I reached the door with the Roman numeral XIII written on it, his room. I opened the door to find his former room exactly how it always looked. His bed was still unmade, the checkered bedspread bunched up at the bottom.

His desk was still as cluttered as ever with books he borrowed out of Zexion's library. But my attention was drawn to the window.

From his room was a perfect view of Kingdom Hearts. What a joke. Even with Kingdom Hearts we wouldn't get our hearts back. There wasn't anything to get back. Our hearts were with us all the time, just shrouded in darkness.

Except, now mine was gone. It had been rescued from its prison when Roxas had come along and it had gone with him when he left.

As I leaned against the window ledge an envelope fell to the floor. When I opened it up I found a popsicle stick with the word 'WINNER' written across it.

I broke down for the second time that day, crying tears I thought I had run out of.

I didn't leave his room for three days.

But when I finally did, I was dead. Maybe not physically but mentally… I was gone. I just continued to go through the motions of being 'alive'. I went back to acting as if Roxas had never existed. For a long time I went on missions, collected hearts, and went to sleep in room XIII. Sure, I was acting like he didn't exist but I needed that comfort to keep me going.

I gained the trust of the Superior again and ended up being sent to find Roxas. When I found the blond he didn't remember anything, didn't remember me. The second time I came for him, he acted like he remembered but that would have been too good to be true.

On our third meeting he did. He remembered everything and yet still decided to leave me behind and rejoin with Sora. My emotions got the better of me then and I fought with him. But he had grown stronger than the last time I had known him. I lost and failed to bring him back with me.

After that I went back to the Organization and did as I was told. I watched as one after another of my comrades was taken out by Sora and his traveling companions. I was sent to capture him once but I couldn't. He was too much like Roxas, like the boy I had known, loved. I ended up telling him the Organization's secrets and motives.

The second time I ran into him, I had been exiled banished for betraying Organization XIII. What can I say? I never really did do what others wanted, I was always out for myself. Even then, as I fought side by side with the brunet, I wasn't fighting for his sake, I was fighting for Roxas' sake but even more so for my own.

I hoped that if I helped, maybe, just maybe I would see my blond again. With that thought in mind I used my ultimate limit, unleashed all the fire inside me and finished off the dusk army. I knew it would be my last move, but I did it, all the while clinging to that last shred of hope that I would see my best friend, my partner one last time.

As I lie on the swirling ground, my body burning from the inside out, I wondered if Roxas had been right. If not all stories had fairy tale endings.


	3. Part III: In The End

.:In The End:.

Everything was dark for a long time.

Then, I heard a vaguely familiar voice and a small hand appeared to pull me from the darkness.

Before that though, I didn't remember a thing.

I had woken up in Hollow Bastio- excuse me Radiant Garden. Not that I would have know that.

I was being held in some very damp, dungeon thing. And when I say damp, I mean very damp, like water logged damp. Um… sorry. Anyways, I was being held captive by the Hallow Bastion Restoration Committee.

If that wasn't a joke. All they did was question me and accuse me of crimes I couldn't remember committing, though I couldn't help feeling that the accusations were true. It actually got to the point where I got so mad, I set the short, black haired girl – Yuffie? – on fire. She was just so annoying… what can I say? Even without my memory, I was still as hot tempered as ever.

I was there for a long time. It felt like months. Okay, so it was probably only a couple days.

One day that brunet with the scar – Storm? No… Squall. Yeah, Squall. Or Leon… whatever…- came down and said there was someone there for me to meet. A few moments later Cloud – okay, what the hell kinda names are these anyways? – came down with a smaller blond in tow.

At first I could only stare blankly. He was looking down and I couldn't see his face but his windswept wheat blond hair seemed so familiar and I felt my heart ache but couldn't quite place why.

_Raise your head. Look at me. I – I know you, I know I do. Why can't I remember? _

As if listening to my silent pleas, the blond lifted his head and turned towards me._ Blue, blue so deep, so innocent yet filled with knowing that no one of that age should have. _His eyes held more emotions than one could count. Happiness, concern, nervousness, hesitation, fear, pain… hope.

The moment my acid green met his deep, deep cerulean something clicked and all the memories came flooding back. Organization XIII. Kingdom Hearts. Nobodys, no feelings…

His first zombie like week. Our days spent together, eating Sea Salt ice cream, on missions, at the clock tower. Our first kiss. Our conversations, the questions he would ask, and the day he left.

I remembered going after him time and time again only to have him slip out of my reach. I remembered feeling so empty, more than I ever had in my entire existence as a Nobody. I remembered having to watch Sora, the boy that looked so much like my love, take out my comrades one by one. And somehow I ended up saving the boy. I had to, he was… Roxas.

I saw my very last memory as a Nobody, the one I had from just before I faded.

_My fire was consuming my body from the inside out but all I could think about was not being able to see my sweet blond before disappearing. I apologized to Sora for the wrong doings I had done to him and I explained my reasons, not that he understood. _

_He had no clue who Roxas was. He had no clue that he had unknowingly taken away my best friend, my _life_. _

_And as I spoke, I continued to fade. Fade back into the darkness from which I had come. Yet, just before I was completely gone, I chanced one last look at the boy kneeling beside myself. And my already ragged breath caught in my throat._

_Blond hair. He… it was him. _

_There knelt my blond, holding my hand that I could no longer feel, tears streaming down his face. I would have wiped them away but I hardly had the strength to keep my eyes open, let alone lift my arm._

"Axel…"

The small whisper brought me back to present reality immediately. That voice, that beautiful, tenor voice.

"R- Roxas…"

Just that one word from my mouth caused his features to light up completely. Any fear or worry that had been residing in his eyes was replaced with overwhelming joy. The same emotion I was experiencing.

Suddenly, I found myself in a crushing hug with my little blond sobbing into my chest. All I could do was hug him back and let tears of my own run down my cheeks and into his golden hair.

Roxas, my Roxas. I had finally found him, after all we had been through I could finally have him by my side once again. And this time…

"Roxas, do you remember when you asked what would happen if we had hearts?" A small nod was my only answer, slowly followed by him pulling back just enough to look at me.

"Well, I was right. Even with a heart, nothing has changed. I still love you with all my being." I smiled fondly down at him and leaned forward to place a chaste kiss on his forehead, then to both of his closed eyes, his tear stained cheeks and finally his soft, pale lips.

After we parted, ignoring the stares of the strange named idiots still in the room, I chuckled. "Hey, Roxy. I guess you were wrong for once."

He just looked at me confused and pouting childishly over the use of his old nickname.

"In the end, it looks like our story did have that fairy tale happy ending."

~~~~~~O~~~~~~

FIN

~~~~~~O~~~~~~


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